Archive for July 17th, 2008

Betere chip in toegangspassen overheid

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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De nieuwe toegangspas voor gebouwen van de rijksoverheid wordt niet voorzien van de gekraakte chip die ook in de OV-chipkaart zit. Inlichtingendienst AIVD vindt dat er een andere chip moet komen.

En de OV chip blijft gewoon te kraken - wat kan het de overheid verder schelen dat het OV-saldo van gewone mensen gejat kan worden….

Cartoons

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

EU tells UK to deal with Phorm - or else

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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The European Commission has sent a message to the British government, and it reads something like this: “If you don’t deal with Phorm, we will.”

Earlier this month, according to Dow Jones, the European Union commissioner for information society and media sent a “pre-warning letter” to UK authorities, voicing her concern over Phorm, the behavioral ad targeter poised to track user activity on Britain’s three largest ISPs: BT, Carphone Warehouse, and Virgin Media.

BT has already conducted two trials with Phorm - and web surfers were not notified.

“It is very clear in E.U. directives that unless someone specifically gives authorization (to track consumer activity on the Web) then you don’t have the right to do that,” EU commissioner Viviane Reding said. If UK government does not deal with the issue, Dow Jones says, the EC could take action in the European Court of Justice.

You know your government is fucked when the EU start having the moral high ground over you.

How much oil it’d take to buy the US

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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When we asked, “How much is that in dollars?,” we usually liked the answer.

But it may be time to ask another question: “How much is that in barrels of oil?”

Trust me, others are doing exactly that.

That’s when the world starts to look very different. It also looks more than a little scary to the U.S. Today, the net worth of the entire country is equivalent to a mere 400 billion barrels of oil. That’s a smidgeon less than the proven reserves of two Middle Eastern countries: Saudi Arabia (264 billion barrels) and Iran (139 billion barrels).

New Yorker Cartoon

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Rolling In His Grave

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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This is unbelievable. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) wants to rename the the current AIDS relief bill after Jesse Helms.

SA 5074. Mrs. DOLE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2731, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to provide assistance to foreign countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: On page 1, line 5, strike “and Henry J. Hyde” and insert “, Henry J. Hyde, and Jesse Helms”.

Jesse Helms, the man who in 1987 described AIDS prevention literature as “so obscene, so revolting, I may throw up.”

Jesse Helms, the man who in 1988 vigorously opposed the Kennedy-Hatch AIDS research bill, saying, “There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy.”

Jesse Helms, the man who in 1995 said (in opposition to refunding the Ryan White Act) that the government should spend less on people with AIDS because they got sick due to their “deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct.”

Jesse Helms, the man who in 2002 announced that he’d changed his mind about AIDS funding for Africa, but not for American gays, because homosexuality “is the primary cause of the doubling and redoubling of AIDS cases in the United States.”

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Though I certainly understand the objections, there’s something kind of poetic about naming and international AIDS funding bill after Jesse Helms. If alive, he would certainly hate it. Even though it isn’t intended as such, it’s kind of a big “fuck you” to him really, a way to put his name on the kinds of things he fought against over his political career.

Despite Aversion To Golfing During The War, Bush Will Attend A McCain Golf Fundraiser Hosted By His Parents

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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In May, President Bush revealed that he had given up playing golf because of the Iraq war. “I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal,” said Bush. Apparently though, he’s fine with golf as long as it raises money for GOP candidates.

The DC Examiner reports that next Monday, Bush’s parents will be hosting a high-dollar golfing fundraiser for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) near their home in Kennebunkport, ME

Poll Finds Obama Isn’t Closing Divide on Race

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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Americans are sharply divided by race heading into the first election in which an African-American will be a major-party presidential nominee, with blacks and whites holding vastly different views of Senator Barack Obama, the state of race relations and how black Americans are treated by society, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The results of the poll, conducted against the backdrop of a campaign in which race has been a constant if not always overt issue, suggested that Mr. Obama’s candidacy, while generating high levels of enthusiasm among black voters, is not seen by them as evidence of significant improvement in race relations.

Fuck, guys, maybe you should wait and see what happens if Obama actually runs things instead of just trying to get elected.

Indeed, the poll showed markedly little change in the racial components of people’s daily lives since 2000, when The Times examined race relations in an extensive series of articles called “How Race Is Lived in America.”

Right. I wonder what happened in 2000… Oh, yeah, you elected the guy who is actually running things right now. Perhaps you should blame him instead…

Let’s get some other numbers from the very same poll, and see how the NYT rates on the “quality journalism” scale…

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a) More white voters say Obama cares about people like them, than say the same thing about McCain by 31 to 23

b) On the essential issue in this campaign - bringing about change in Washington - Among white voters, Obama is seen as the change agent by 52% to 30%

c) Obama’s 31% favorable rating among white voters is virtually identical to McCain’s, which is at 34%.

d) By a 2 to 1 margin over McCain, white voters are more likely to say that Obama would improve America’s image in the world

e) “Racial dissension” around Mrs. Obama’s 24% favorable rating among whites is an extremely odd description given that Mrs. McCain’s favorable rating among white voters is 20%.

f) Enthusiasm for Obama’s candidacy is roughly 2.5 times higher among white voters than is enthusiasm for McCain’s.

g) Obama is winning by 6 points against McCain and the gap among white voters is only -9 — a margin smaller than independent expert on voting patterns, Ruy Texiera, said would give Obama a ” solid win.”

h) though there is a six-point margin of error among black voters the NYT describes the 7-point change in black voters’ views that whites had a better chance of getting ahead as slightly higher than 8 years ago. Given that the Times reports horserace questions as statistically even when the margin falls within the margin, it seems that this shift from seven years ago among black voters is well within the margin of error.

Incredible pictures of Mars - and they look surprisingly like some parts of Earth

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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And while Mars today appears lifeless and parched, they are a reminder of how its surface was shaped by fast flowing streams, rivers and oceans.

The pictures were captured by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Probe - a spacecraft the size of a large fridge-freezer that has been circling Mars since Christmas 2003.

More here.

How many managers can you cram into your workspace?

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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When the network is down, you’ll have your answer.

Registrar Who Won’t Serve Gays Because of Religious Beliefs has Illegitimate Child

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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Lilian Ladele recently won a suit against Islington Council alleging discrimination after she was punished for refusing to do her job and perform civil partnerships for same-sex couples. A judge ruled that Ladele was within her rights to deny service to homosexuals as a staunch Christian.

However, it has now been revealed that Ladele is also a single mother to a child, now 27, born out of wedlock. So Ladele is so firmly Christian that she can’t possibly marry same-sex couples, but not so religious as to remain chaste until married. Presumably God will forgive the sin of extramarital sex but not the “sin” of joining two people together in a loving relationship.

The discovery that she has an illegitimate son could cast suspicion on some of the testimony she gave at the discrimination tribunal. The tribunal wrote: “Ms Ladele is a Christian. Her unchallenged evidence was that she holds the orthodox Christian view that marriage is the union of one man and one woman for life to the exclusion of all others and that marriage is the God-ordained place for sexual relations.”

“She told us that she believed this to be contrary to God’s instructions that sexual relations belong exclusively between a man and a woman within marriage.”

That’s right, she said marriage is the only god-ordained place for sexual relations. How awkward for her. It’s likely even more awkward for the Christian Institute, a far-right Christian group that helped fund Ladele’s appeal and is firmly against sex before marriage.

However, it’s unlikely the group was unaware of the situation, once again proving that groups like the Christian Institute aren’t really “pro-Christian values”, just anti-gay. You can’t pick and choose your beliefs if you’re going to claim to be a fundamentalist. Hypocrisy is a sin itself.

Stray bullet stopped by watermelon

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

But first, it went through a car door and a bible. Now, guess which object gets the credit?

CNN reporter criticizes TSA, finds self on terror watch list

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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The post-9/11 airline watch list that is supposed to keep terrorists off of airplanes has swelled to more than 1 million names, including at least one investigative reporter who had been critical of the Transportation Security Agency, which maintains the watch list.

CNN’s Drew Griffin reported on the bloating of the watch list, which an ACLU count pegged at 1,001,308 names Wednesday afternoon. Griffin’s is one of those names, he says.

“Coincidentally, this all began in May, shortly after I began a series of investigative reports critical of the TSA. Eleven flights now since May 19. On different airlines, my name pops up forcing me to go to the counter, show my identification, sometimes the agent has to make a call before I get my ticket,” Griffin reported. “What does the TSA say? Nothing, at least nothing on camera. Over the phone a public affairs worker told me again I’m not on the watch list, and don’t even think that someone in the TSA or anyone else is trying to get even.”

Obama Releases List of Approved Jokes About Himself

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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Saying he is “sympathetic to late night comedians’ struggle to find jokes to make about me,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) today issued a list of official campaign-approved Barack Obama jokes.

The five jokes, which Sen. Obama said he is making available to all comedians free of charge, are as follows:

Barack Obama and a kangaroo pull up to a gas station. The gas station attendant takes one look at the kangaroo and says, “You know, we don’t get many kangaroos here.” Barack Obama replies, “At these prices, I’m not surprised. That’s why we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

A traveling salesman knocks on the door of a farmhouse, and much to his surprise, Barack Obama answers the door. The salesman says, “I was expecting the farmer’s daughter.” Barack Obama replies, “She’s not here. The farm was foreclosed on because of subprime loans that are making a mockery of the American Dream.”

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Why the long face?” Barack Obama replies, “His jockey just lost his health insurance, which should be the right of all Americans.”

Q: What’s black and white and red all over?
Barack Obama: The New Yorker magazine, which should be embarrassed after publishing such a tasteless and offensive cover, which I reject and denounce.

A Christian, a Jew and Barack Obama are in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. Barack Obama says, “This joke isn’t going to work because there’s no Muslim in this boat.”

Overstating Our Fears

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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Sen. John McCain has repeatedly characterized the threat of “radical Islamic extremism” as “the absolute gravest threat . . . that we’re in against.” Before we simply accept this, we need to examine the nature of the terrorist threat facing our country. If we do so, we will see how we have allowed the specter of that threat to distort our lives and take our treasure.

The threat from Islamic terrorism is no larger now than it was before Sept. 11, 2001. Islamic societies the world over are in turmoil and will continue for years to produce small numbers of dedicated killers, whom we must stop. U.S. and allied intelligence do a good job at that; these efforts, however, will never succeed in neutralizing every terrorist, everywhere.

Why are these views so starkly at odds with what the Bush administration has said since the beginning of the “Global War on Terror”? This administration has heard what it has wished to hear, pressured the intelligence community to verify preconceptions, undermined or sidetracked opposing voices, and both instituted and been victim of procedures that guaranteed that the slightest terrorist threat reporting would receive disproportionate weight — thereby comforting the administration’s preconceptions and policy inclinations.

We must not delude ourselves about the nature of the terrorist threat to our country. We must not take fright at the specter our leaders have exaggerated. In fact, we must see jihadists for the small, lethal, disjointed and miserable opponents that they are.

The writer was a member of the CIA’s Clandestine Service for 23 years and retired in March 2007 as deputy national intelligence officer for transnational threats.

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Thursday, July 17th, 2008

“The other day the plane that Barack Obama was on had some mechanical difficulties and was forced to land. Well, the National Transportation Safety Board did an inspection on the plane, and you know what they found? The bolts on the plane were fine, but apparently Jesse Jackson had taken some of the nuts off.”

–Jay Leno

“Jesse Jackson has a bit of a scandal going on right now, which I’ve got to address right up front. Yeah, in case you don’t know, last night Fox News aired video of Jesse Jackson where Jackson was caught saying he wants to cut Barack Obama’s nuts off. That’s what he said. By the way, for the record, this marks the nicest thing ever said about Barack Obama on Fox News.”

–Conan O’Brien

The Word - Priceless

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

“I’m drawing a blank … I hate it when I do that”

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Cartoons

Thursday, July 17th, 2008


indoor-dictatorial